The Royal Commission is to be given the power to supervise the transfer of evidence and other information to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Premier Carmen Lawrence today gave formal notice in State Parliament of a Bill to extend the commission's powers beyond its final reporting date.
Dr Lawrence said the Bill provided for the commission to have discretion over:
· giving to the DPP or other authorities all evidence and other material provided with or without compulsion but under assurances of confidentiality, private submissions and internal working documents;
· transferring administrative records to the Public Service Commission, or destroying them.
All other information, which would include the bulk of the evidence, would be handed over to the DPP. The DPP could pass these on to other prosecuting, revenue-collecting or investigative bodies.
"This Bill will ensure that the relevant authorities have access to the information they need for further investigations or other actions resulting from the inquiries of the Royal Commission," Dr Lawrence said.
"The intention always has been that any wrongdoers identified by the Royal Commission should be brought to account.
"The Bill will help to ensure that this happens and that the authorities have access to information to help them to recover money where this is necessary."
